Vol. 518 No. 5
2 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has completed her consideration of the report of the Competition and Mergers Review Group of its examination of the report of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry; when she expects to bring forward proposals arising from the report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12279/00]
I asked the Competition and Mergers Review Group to advise me on how best to implement certain recommendations of the Commission on the Newspaper Industry. The recommendations referred to the review group concern the factors to be considered in regulating changes of ownership of newspapers; an amendment to merger law to enable consideration to be given to the acquisition of control over newspapers by means other than the acquisition of shares; and the consideration of the issue of concentration of ownership on a media-wide as well as on a single media basis.
I have recently received the report and recommendations of the Competition and Mergers Review Group. The review group has reported on this and a wide range of merger and competition law matters. I will publish the report shortly. I apologise to the House because I had promised publication before now. However, the final logistical proof-read copy arrived in the Department only last week and it is currently being printed. I hope to have it published in the next couple of days.
The review group took more than three years to complete its consideration of the many complex issues within its remit. Clearly, I will require some further time to give the recommendations the full and careful consideration they deserve. I will decide what consequential action, if any, is required in due course.
Does the Minister agree the media industry is not like any other, that it is not like making cement or telephone components, and that, in terms of the health of our democracy, it is undesirable that there should be a dominant position to the extent that there is, not just in this jurisdiction and on this island?
I have always had strong views about competition because it delivers a better quality of service and better value to consumers generally. What Deputy Rabbitte says about the newspaper industry is particularly so because of the role of the media in informing the public. Having a free press is an important pillar of democracy. We do not need to over emphasise what has happened recently to know how important it is.
The commission on the newspaper industry made five recommendations that should be taken into account when the Minister is deciding on a merger. It is one of the sectors where a merger cannot take place within the industry without the approval of the Minister. It is seen as an important policy matter. Those recommendations are with regard to the strength and competitiveness of the indigenous industry in relation to UK titles, the plurality of newspaper ownership, the plurality of titles, the diversity of views in Irish society and the maintenance of cultural diversity. In the new report it makes one further recommendation and says we need to look also at cross-media ownership and interests in making a decision on a merger. That has considerable merit.
It has taken a long time to get to the stage we are at in terms of the Minister publishing the report. If it were any other Minister that was seized of the report and did not publish it before Question Time today but waited for a quiet week, I would be raising questions about it but I would not do that when it is the Tanáiste. We have the report after all these years of waiting. If, as the Minister suggested, amending legislation or other actions are necessary, will she inform the House when she might be ready to take those actions?
As far as some of the recommendations in the review group's report are concerned it will be more an administrative or regulatory change that does not require amending primary legislation. However, much of it requires amending competition law and so on. I hope that during the summer we will be in a position to begin drafting legislation in this area. Legislation is already planned. When the report is published and when we get the copies from the printers I will ensure Opposition spokespersons have a copy of it. It is a very long report and will take a considerable time to read. I hope we will be in a position to make decisions on the findings by the summer of this year.
